Two Types of Truth

We can define two types of truth: empirical truth and convenient truth.

Empirical truth is based on evidence, research and reason. It is the truth
that scientists seek. It is the truth that people seek when they want to achieve
predictable results.

Empirical Truth

Empirical truth is hard to establish and can be inconvenient when it does not
serve an immediate need. Politicians and other persuaders love it when it
buttresses their policies, but they hate it when such truths point the other
way. In relation to time, empirical truth is more about past proof and future
value than any present purpose.

Empirical truth is the truth of science, which is driven by the principle of
empiricism. It is determined through a combination of previously established
empirical truths and rigorous experimentation that may be challenged by other
scientists before it is accepted as truth.

Convenient truth

Convenient truth is based on need, desire and emotion. It is the truth that
deceivers seek. It is the truth that people seek when they want to be right when
they suspect they are wrong. In relation to time, convenient truth is about now
and worries little about the past or future.

Convenient truth is the truth of populist politicians and journalists, who
seek to persuade without worrying too much about empirical truth. Convenient
truth is established through confident repetition, assertion and sheer power.

Discussion

Most of us resort to convenient truth when we assert something as true when
we are not really sure. We generalize from limited data or just make up 'facts'
to support our arguments.

More often, we dally somewhere between empiricism and convenience. We cannot
prove every assertion, so we seek trusted sources, from textbooks to TV
channels. And we trust our friends, accepting their convenient truths as
empirical truths.

When listening for truth, perhaps the best we can do is be cautious, not
wholly trusting yet accepting what is convenient for now, as long as it helps
and does not harm. In persuasion, we should build trust with as much empirical
truth as we can, and be honest when we are guessing.

When persuading, we may be tempted by convenient truth as this may be more
effective in the short term. However we should also consider longer-term
effects, such as when people feel betrayed when our assertions turn out to be
false.

So what?

If personal integrity and provable truth are important to you, then you will
prefer empirical truth. Yet when you have to convince people where convenient
truth is more persuasive, what do you do? In the end, you have to choose, and
the first step is knowing the difference. When you speak 'truth', know what kind
of truth you are speaking. Also know the effect that it will have both in the
short and long term. While a convenient truth may win the day, it may not win
the war. Indeed, convenient truths can become inconvenient when later you are
accused of lying.